12 Questions
What was the archetypal paid job for women in North America for nearly a century?
Clerical work
How did the gender composition of clerical occupations change over time?
Clerical occupations were initially dominated by men, but quickly became among the most gender-segregated of all jobs, numerically dominated by women and discursively marked as 'women's work'.
How was clerical work portrayed in women's magazines over three generations?
Clerical work was portrayed as 'the' job for middle-class women, while also being a reachable goal for daughters of the working-class.
How is the expansion of clerical work related to the growth of women's paid work more generally in Canada and the US?
The expansion of clerical work has been intimately wrapped up with the growth of women's paid work in Canada and the US more generally, so an analysis of clerical work reflects a wider cultural history of women's paid work outside the home.
What major cultural, social and economic changes have shaped clerical work in the late nineteenth and twentieth century?
The shifts include the transition to a service-based economy powered by huge corporations, the decline of unionized blue-collar jobs, rapid technological change, and the massive influx of women into paid work.
How does the periodization used in the discussion enable a more nuanced understanding of the meanings around clerical work?
The broader and more nuanced periodization into three time periods (late 19th century to 1930s, mid-century to early 1970s, and 1970s to present) enables consideration of how the meanings about clerical work have changed across time and under very different social and economic conditions.
What is the main argument presented regarding the idea of clerical work as 'women's work'?
The content of what 'women's work' means has shifted considerably under different social and economic contexts.
What were some reasons for considering the US and Canada together in the analysis?
The rise of clerical work is deeply interwoven with the rapid urbanization of North America. The financial service sectors in both countries expanded and feminized at about the same time.
What was the demographic profile provided by a 10 percent sample from the 1901 unpublished nominal census for Montréal?
N=5,491 women at the turn of the twentieth century.
What were some sources of data collected for the analysis of clerical work in the US and Canada?
Documents and personnel files from archives of seven key Canadian banks and insurance companies. Oral histories and recent interviews with personnel managers.
What were women predominantly engaged in for paid work in the late nineteenth century?
Domestic service, factories (textiles, clothing, tobacco), or farms.
How has the growth of service sector jobs impacted women's opportunities for paid work in North America?
It greatly expanded women's opportunities for paid work.
Test your knowledge about the history and gender dynamics of clerical occupations in North America. Explore how clerical work evolved from being male-dominated to becoming predominantly a 'women's work'. Discover the societal attitudes and portrayals of clerical jobs in different generations.
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